News

Battlefield 3 will have (surprise!) EA Online Pass
Posted: 02.08.2011 07:36 by JonahFalcon Comments: 6
The war on used games and rentals continue as Battlefield 3 will have Electronic Arts' EA Online Pass, which is a one time code that allows people to play online for free. Otherwise, a $10 fee is charged for the privilege.

DICE executive producer Patrick Bach told GamerZines that Electronic Arts would "probably" impose the online pass on BF3, stating, "I'm not sure I want to call our system an Online Pass. The whole idea is that we're paying for servers. If you create a new account there is a big process on how that is being handled in the backend. We would rather have you buy a new game than a used game because buying a used game is only a cost to us; we don't get a single dime from a used game, but we still need to create server space and everything for you."

Sounds like a pretty justification for charging consumers for buying used copies, doesn't it? All it means is fewer people will play BF3, which means less people will buy Battlefield 4.
Source: PSX Extreme

Comments

By JPerry06 (SI Core) on Aug 02, 2011
JPerry06
I have a lot of second hand games and never really thought about the developers cost. Surely if someone sells there copy then their account is no longer used and can be deleted ha
By neilmike (SI Core) on Aug 02, 2011
neilmike
hmmm, i can't say i blame them....
By Knave (SI Core) on Aug 02, 2011
Knave
Yeah, I've never agreed with game companies arguments that they should receive something for used game sales.

If the last person is done with their copy, they should be able to transfer it to whomever they like. If they're concerned about server space then they can delete the old owner's stats linked to that copy.
By K3Spice (SI Core) on Aug 02, 2011
K3Spice
Can't blame them. But on PC how is this going to work? Cause I didn't know anyone bought used PC games -_-
By Xyfer117 (SI Core) on Aug 02, 2011
Xyfer117
They sholuld state somewhere that when an account hasnt been logged on to for x amount of time it will automatically be deleted... What if I buy BF3 and me and my girlfriend both want to play on it on our separate live accounts? Can we both use the same game and code because the accounts are on the same console?
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Aug 02, 2011
nocutius
Well this means people will get 10$ less for their used copy, which means they have 10$ less to spend on the new game.

But they also have a point, the retailers are screwing them over with used copies too much.